Run, Ricky, Run … there is more to life than football

When Ricky Williams left college he was college football’s all-time leading rusher. He leaves the NFL as the 26th player in history to rush for 10,000 yards.

Wasted talent? Hardly.

Ricky did it his way, and I admire him for that.

Watching him run so many times in person, brought joy to my life. His touchdown run against Texas A&M, on the play that broke Tony Dorsett’s NCAA record is one of the most memorable plays I have ever seen.

Football entertains me, and Ricky was darned entertaining.

But his job in life isn’t to make me happy, you happy or anyone else happy for that matter. He wasn’t put on this earth simply to make money carrying a 15-ounce pigskin trying to score touchdowns against crazed men out to break his legs.

He never thought that was the case. He just happened to be good at playing football. And unlike a general misconception, he wasn’t born a great football player. He worked extremely hard to become the great running back that he became. And Ricky was indeed a great running back. He put a lot on the line to do what so many in society said he was supposed to do.

Yes, I would have loved to have seen him plow through would-be tacklers for a 15-year NFL career and go out as one of the greatest backs the game has ever seen. But that is a selfish desire. I wanted to see that for my enjoyment, and on some level, my employment. To watch as a fan and to write about as a journalist.

I wouldn’t dare say someone has the obligation to ruin his body just for my entertainment. If they choose to do so, that is fine. If they choose not to, that is fine too.

I’ve had conversations with Ricky that were just as thrilling as some of the great runs I saw him make on the football field. So I will always be a huge fan.

Ricky took the pounding for many, many years, and made enough money to take care of his family and his children. But he always saw himself as so much more than that.

He saw a bigger purpose in life.

He didn’t hurt anyone. He didn’t take from anyone. He has improved the lives he has touched and made the world a better place.

If you are mad at Ricky Williams because he didn’t finish his career as a Hall of Famer and one of the four or five best to ever play the game, you are the one with the problem.

When I talk to him, I’ll thank him for sharing his talents with us for as long as he did. And I’ll tell him that I expect to thank you even more for all that he’ll do going forward.